Why are so many shopping carts abandoned?

10.05.20130

SalesCycle recently conducted a reseach showing a shopping cart abandonment rate of 78 %. What are the most common reasons for shopping cart abandonment and is there something we could do to prevent it?

1. The purchase has high shipping costs or they were not clearly pointed out.

Our advice:

Offer your customer many different shipping opportunities so they can themseves have an impact on the total value of their purchase. Also remember to keep the overall costs transparent so the shipping costs don't just suddenly (or too late) appear and catch your customer by surprise. Different kind of campaigns such as first purchase with zero shipping costs might also help in attracting new customers to your store. After the first purchase and especially if the relationship is well taken care of, the customer will most likely have an easier time accepting the costs related to their orders.

2. Not ready to purchase.

Our advice:

Not being ready to purchase usually leads back to not having enough information about the product or the factors affecting the purchase of that product. So make sure that the product details on your store are up-to-date and that you are providing your potential customers enough information on the products as well as on the order process (for example tech specs, images, descriptions or user comments and/or reviews). Passing of product information can also be made easier by integrations with the help of which two separate systems can learn to speak the same language. It's a good idea to research the behavior and satisfaction of customers regularly to bring up possible purchase barriers before its too late.

3. The process of buying is too complicated or too much information is needed to finish off the order.

Our advice:

Try to maintain the information needed for purchase short and precise. The information has to be asked, of course, yet it's healthy to keep in mind that a long form to fill might wear out your customer and result in shopping cart abandonment. Some merchants have introduced the One Page Checkout function in which the entire shopping cart along with its phases and approval is all done on one page. These kinds of accelerated and easy solutions have been designed to remove purchase barriers and to reduce shopping cart abandonment.

4. The buyer leaves and plans to return at a later stage.

Our advice:

Take into account the buyers that plan to return later. You could for example add a save your shopping cart function onto the store so the potential customer doesn't have to do everything all over after returning to your store. Shopping cart abandonment is so common these days that different marketing automation systems are justifiable to consider. What if the person abondoning their cart would receive a reminder to their email the next day, a stylish graphic newsletter pointing out once more the advantages and desired features of a specific product, along with an appealling picture of it?

5. The desired payment method is not available.

Our advice:

If possible offer your customers many different payment methods. Some research have shown for instance that a bill sent after the purchase is still a wished-for payment method that people conceive trustworthy.

Contact Liana Technologies' experts if you want to discuss more about eCommerce and its solutions.